First Princess booking - How to monitor for sales/price breaks?

[blue_water]

First booking with Princess for April, 2014, how do we monitor for sales or price breaks that we can take advantage of? Similar to Carnival?

 

We had Princess transfer our booking to a TA so the TA should be able to act on our behalf if a price break becomes available, correct?

 

Thanks! :)

[squaw]

First booking with Princess for April, 2014, how do we monitor for sales or price breaks that we can take advantage of? Similar to Carnival?

 

We had Princess transfer our booking to a TA so the TA should be able to act on our behalf if a price break becomes available, correct?

 

Thanks! :)

 

Hi, we booked through princess which is much better than a TA. I have traveled once before so I get the flyers. They reduced our trip by $500 when it went on sale and gave the same discount to my friends that were traveling with us. On my first cruise I used a TA and I had to tell her when I saw a discount promotion and i found out on my own that princess gives $100 onboard credit for war vets or current military on a 7 day cruise. I also found out the the room selection is much better when going direct. I won't use a TA again.

[blue_water]

Thanks!

But we've taken a number of cruises and land-based vacations, and although I do closely monitor cruise sales and price reductions myself, I like having a good TA do that for me as well as long as a particular line doesn't have strange regs. A good TA is a real asset and is invaluable IMHO, and I was able to find one locally that rocks so we're lucky. ;)

 

I'm mainly asking what tools one uses for checking current prices and promotions for Princess? Carnival has a specific site that's quick and easy, is there one for Princess?

 

Thanks! :)

[ntvsdgrl]

For me, I saved my cruise tour under my "saved Cruises" on my personalizer. I go on once a week and check the pricing. Because I'm so OCD, I found the price before my TA got the notice from Princess and she had an email from me when she got into the office. ;)

[Pam in CA]

First booking with Princess for April, 2014, how do we monitor for sales or price breaks that we can take advantage of? Similar to Carnival?

 

We had Princess transfer our booking to a TA so the TA should be able to act on our behalf if a price break becomes available, correct?

If you've transferred your booking to a TA who books a lot of Princess cruises, they are allowed to discount so with the right TA, you can save 10-20% plus get OBC and other perks. I almost always pay less to start with and rarely have to check for a sale or price decrease because I know I'm already paying less than the new price. Unless, of course, it's a "Flash" sale which is for new bookings only.

[e71465]

For me, I saved my cruise tour under my "saved Cruises" on my personalizer. I go on once a week and check the pricing. Because I'm so OCD, I found the price before my TA got the notice from Princess and she had an email from me when she got into the office. ;)

 

No, I'm OCD, I check daily!

[cr8tiv1]

I have a terrific TA. I am constantly monitoring Princess and will email my TA in the middle of the night about my findings. More often than not, she checks almost daily and will get to it before she even opens my emails. I am "working" on not being so OCD and trusting her.

 

A good TA is priceless.

 

Renee

[Patty2005]

I use cruise fish. I check daily and then bug my TA to have my account credited or room upgraded. :)

[blazerjan]

I use cruise fish. I check daily and then bug my TA to have my account credited or room upgraded. :)

 

 

Same here........ and she never acts annoyed with me when I call.:D

[SiBreeze]

If you've transferred your booking to a TA who books a lot of Princess cruises, they are allowed to discount so with the right TA, you can save 10-20% plus get OBC and other perks. I almost always pay less to start with and rarely have to check for a sale or price decrease because I know I'm already paying less than the new price. Unless, of course, it's a "Flash" sale which is for new bookings only.

 

Totally agree with Pam. We have a great TA who usually gets us the best price right off the bat, including things like OBC and wine. She got us the corner aft balconys on Baja for less than the lowest price balcony Princess or any other website had offered for the same sailing. :D

[CruzVinnieCruz]

Totally agree with Pam. We have a great TA who usually gets us the best price right off the bat, including things like OBC and wine. She got us the corner aft balconys on Baja for less than the lowest price balcony Princess or any other website had offered for the same sailing. :D

 

 

We book through a TA we get a lower price than advertised, and get OBC but it is still certainly worth checking prices. This year alone we have saved over $600 in reductions and are still looking for more. We have in the past given up OBC because the price reduction saved us more than what the OBC was worth.

 

Vinnie

[blue_water]

We booked over a year in advance to get a specific stateroom on a specific sailing date and I didn't expect to see any perks or deals available yet. I'm familiar with booking the Early Saver with Carnival (although the past guest discount is usually much better). But I always see sales or promotions later that we can take advantage of and I expect that is the same here.

 

I thought there would be a particular site the TA's and cruisers would use to easily monitor any savings options, but I will look at cruise fish and at the "personalizer" on the Princess site.

 

Thanks for the information all!

[Happy2cruise]

I also found out the the room selection is much better when going direct. I won't use a TA again.

 

We always use a TA and when booking tell them which cabin we want. If not already booked, never had a problem getting it.

[runnerodb83]

its become very easy now that princess is almost entirely switched to a new booking engine. If you just keep an eye on the available cabins, say, 1x per week, it shouldn't take you more than 15 minutes with a spreadsheet. I've been keeping track of bookings for a few years now and have gotten pretty good at predicting whether there will be a price drop and/or when upgrades happen/gty's get assigned. If only i could get paid for doing this more than my day job...

[fireflymd]

Hi, we booked through princess which is much better than a TA. I have traveled once before so I get the flyers. They reduced our trip by $500 when it went on sale and gave the same discount to my friends that were traveling with us. On my first cruise I used a TA and I had to tell her when I saw a discount promotion and i found out on my own that princess gives $100 onboard credit for war vets or current military on a 7 day cruise. I also found out the the room selection is much better when going direct. I won't use a TA again.

 

We also had a very bad experience using a TA. Honestly, when I realized I knew more than the TA did I really should have booked the cruise on my own. With the internet, it is very easy to find deals that my TA should have found. Those who have good TA's are just lucky. Like anything else in life, it all depends on who is directly taking care of you.

[sunsetbeachgal]

I pop on Princess.com every day to check the price of my booking...if I think it is lower for my cabin or for a cabin class I might like to upgrade to, I will contact my TA...so I use a good TA but I keep on top of it as well! :)

[runnerodb83]

We also had a very bad experience using a TA. Honestly, when I realized I knew more than the TA did I really should have booked the cruise on my own. With the internet, it is very easy to find deals that my TA should have found. Those who have good TA's are just lucky. Like anything else in life, it all depends on who is directly taking care of you.

 

Its the difference between a good TA and a bad TA. Like anything, when introducing a 3rd party it can take longer to get things done. Additionally, its hard to work with some TA's when you know more about the cruise/ship/line than they do. When purchasing a car or other expensive item, I will walk out on a salesperson that knows less than I do. Same applies with TA's.

[blue_water]

If you prefer to do it yourself that's fine, so do I. But a TA is a free asset so it doesn't make a lot of sense to me to read some of these posts recommending not using one. I didn't for several years, but found I'm not as smart as I thought I was :eek: or my time was more valuable elsewhere.

Just sayin', very different from folks who are very "anti-TA"!

[blue_water]

Thanks runnerrod and sunsetbeachgal!

[Happy2cruise]

I pop on Princess.com every day to check the price of my booking...if I think it is lower for my cabin or for a cabin class I might like to upgrade to, I will contact my TA...so I use a good TA but I keep on top of it as well! :)

 

I do the same think. Our TA is good also but like you want to be on top of things. I really don't expect our TA to be able to monitor every price adjustment on all cruise lines for all their customers. As long as they honor the price adjustment I find, I don't mind one bit doing the checking.

[5326jan]

I do the same think. Our TA is good also but like you want to be on top of things. I really don't expect our TA to be able to monitor every price adjustment on all cruise lines for all their customers. As long as they honor the price adjustment I find, I don't mind one bit doing the checking.

 

Yep, me too. I monitor, then transfer before final payment if I still get a lower price. I might be a bit of a control freak.:rolleyes::)

[caribill]

1. You can monitor current pricing at Princess.com. If you are a past passenger, be sure to view pricing for past passengers.

 

2. If you see a price lower than it has been, check for special conditions such as for new bookings only (which really affects you if after final payment date) or if it requires a non-refundable deposit.

 

3. If you see a new price you would like and are sure it does not have restrictions you can't live with, contact your TA. If your TA had already given you a discounted rate, he/she may be able to lower the rate even more if Princess has lowered their pricing.

 

4. Join the Cruise Critic roll call for your cruise. Often others on the roll call will post that they have found a new sale price.

[culvercitycruiser]

I did not see if someone posted this yet but I use Cruise Fish dot net

It can help you with the pricing as it goes up and down.

I have never paid to use it but I just check to see how the pricing goes.

You can setup alerts if you want to pay.

I learned about this two years ago on a forum.

Just wanted to pass on some information that I found useful.

[cruzsnooze]

I used a TA for my cruise this Saturday and will NEVER use a TA again. The $200 OBC wasn't worth it. Using a middle man has muddied the water so badly I'm convinced they are not for me. I am furious with this TA who didn't call me with an upsell and I had told her I wanted to take advantage of an upsell. I have 3 other cruises booked and I check the prices frequently. I will keep these reservations to myself and manage them myself. If I see a reduction I can call Princess directly and they will take care of it immediately.

[5326jan]

I used a TA for my cruise this Saturday and will NEVER use a TA again. The $200 OBC wasn't worth it. Using a middle man has muddied the water so badly I'm convinced they are not for me. I am furious with this TA who didn't call me with an upsell and I had told her I wanted to take advantage of an upsell. I have 3 other cruises booked and I check the prices frequently. I will keep these reservations to myself and manage them myself. If I see a reduction I can call Princess directly and they will take care of it immediately.

 

I think you have to kiss a lot of frogs.... :(:mad::rolleyes: